Year of Wonders: Reviews

‘‘A lyrically written and emotionally engaging novel.”

‘‘The plot is gripping, I like the psychological subtlety of characters struggling with a shifting world, and it’s packed with historical detail.”

—Daily Mail (UK)

vThis novel is quite captivating, so rich with period effect that it makes a great candidate for a screen drama.”

—Weekend Australian

‘‘Year of Wonders is the moving story of a community, but it is also the account of a survivor, one of whose metal has indeed been tested and ‘refined’ through suffering, and one whose voice powerfully registers those changes, in ways that seem both recognizably historical and also uncannily modern.”

—Australian Book Review

‘‘Year of Wonders is a fiction debut at least as successful as Geraldine Brooks’ non-fiction, and surely makes her one of the most interesting writers of her generation.”

—The Age (Aust)

“A vividly imagined and strangely consoling tale of hope in a time of despair.”

—O, The Oprah Magazine

“A former war correspondent, Brooks proves a gifted storyteller as she subtly reveals how ignorance, hatred and mistrust can be as deadly as any virus. Based in part on the true story of Eyam, a rural Debyshire village whose rector persuaded residents to voluntarily quarantine themselves during the plague, YEAR OF WONDERS is itself a wonder.”

—People Magazine

“With assured, elegant prose…Brooks keeps readers glued through starkly dramatic episodes and a haunting story of flawed, despairing human beings. This poignant and powerful account carries the pulsing beat of a sensitive imagination and the challenge of moral complexity.”